For some reason I thought this would be straightforward. I am travelling and working freelance for NZ companies. I have existing accounts with ANZ bank in NZ and wanted to add a business account and attached Visa card to the stable so that I could keep my business related income and expenses separate for accounting purposes.

The bank is saying that I need to be present at a branch in NZ in order to activate the account. Obviously I’m not going to blow thousands of dollars to fly home so I can do a 2 minute face to face in a branch.

Pretty much every reputable bank has this requirement. Some international banks are more lenient and allow the face to face meeting to take place in other countries if they have local branches. Citi and HSBC are good examples of that. Don’t know if any of those two banks are present in NZ though.